Wednesday, May 21, 2008

COMMENTS: Infused with the heady aroma of a series win over Cincinnati, the Dodgers send Kuroda to the mound tonight for the sweep. A victory would not only give Kuroda his second win of the season but also bring the Dodgers to .500 (7-for-14) sans Rafael Furcal—a pretty decent record without the contributions of this year's MVP. Meanwhile, life without Raffy is looking up. Chad Billingsley just might be the stopper we've been yearning for. The heretofore unthinkable outfield of Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier is producing and will finally get some consistent playing time. The bullpen is back to its nasty self. All that stands between the Dodgers and Furcal's scheduled return Friday is Cueto, who averages about a strikeout per inning but also allows a lot of home runs. The Dodgers, who have been shut out only twice this season, figure to score some runs for Kuroda. Hopefully his string of hard-luck outings will end tonight.

For those attending tonight's game: Leave early, as you'll be competing with the Lakers (Staples Center, 6p) and the American Idol final (Nokia Theatre, 5p). Our own Steve Sax will be on the Field level, third-base side—give a holler in the comments section if you want to meet up!

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comments:

Tonight's the night where it's no longer acceptable that I am a Spurs' fan, right?

I've got MLB.tv working now, so I'll be watching the game along with you guys tonight, at least until I fall asleep (fell asleep with SoSG up on my laptop in front of me last night). I'll be back in a few hours.

Oh, and the Red Sox are facing Brett Tomko tonight. Ellsbury just led off the game with a homer against him. I hope every member of the Red Sox tees off against Tomko. It's unlikely, but I would love to see him destroyed tonight.

I did see Colon. I thought he looked good. He gave up six hits in his five innings, but none of those balls was hit particularly hard or well. He threw a lot of groundball out, and his pitch count was good. It was a long wait in the bottom of the fifth while the Red Sox scored some runs, so I think that's why he didn't come back out for the top of the sixth. Easing him back into it, I guess, especially when the batters got him a lead in the bottom of the inning.